Mass dependence of the poor on the state is more than an awful consequence of well-intentioned charity. It’s also, for some, a strategy for gaining control over an entire society. Churches and religious charities that ignore one or both of those facts are complicit in the big-government crusade in the United States promoted by leaders of both political parties.

Government officials are pushing churches out of the feeding ministry, on the premise of protecting the homeless. Government programs, however, cannot create justice for any person in need. Justice is only found in and through the Kingdom of God, which is why helping “the least of these” has been on the church’s agenda from the very beginning.

A government bent on total control must conduct a war on generosity, as Luke Moon writes at juicyecumenism.com:

For more than 20 years, Glenn Richter has been collecting food from restaurants and synagogues to donate to the homeless and local soup kitchens. Not anymore. Last year, Nanny-in-Chief Michael Bloomberg banned restaurants from donating leftover food to shelters and soup kitchens. The excuse given by Bloomberg was that the health of the homeless was important and therefore they city must monitor the salt, fat, and fiber intake for the homeless.

If this was an isolated incident or limited to New York City it might not be that significant. … No, this attack on generosity is a pattern across the nation.